


Celestial Wizard Battle One-Shots

by Jman1000000000



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: One-Shots, magic fights
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-07
Updated: 2018-09-07
Packaged: 2019-07-08 01:57:04
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15920565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jman1000000000/pseuds/Jman1000000000
Summary: This is a basically gonna be a bunch of one-shots of battles (maybe jobs later) between celestial wizards. The wizards will almost all be original and use keys I made in another story but Lucy and Yukino might make some appearances.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I put up a story that was basically ideas for new celestial spirits and I'm still working on it, but I thought it would be fun to write stories where the spirits are actually used for combat because that's the fun part. I show the spirits and their abilities without going in to much detail so if you want a more in-depth look at them they're in my other story. If I like this chapter after posting and reading it, I'll continue and I might find D&D quest ideas and use them to write a couple chapters of jobs where the spirits can be used. I also just realized the villain in this chapter is basically Angel and is named Angelique.

**In a Town Taken Over By a Dark Guild**

Luke Matthis was currently running through the town of Hyacinth Spring, a small town which him and the members of his team came to for a job. How helping everyone cool down during a really bad heatwave turned into saving them from an attack by a powerful dark guild he didn't know, but he'd gone against orders and decided to go through the eastern section of the town and help as many people get safely to the town hall as possible. He heard a scream and ran in its direction. When he rounded a corner he saw who it came from. A woman and five children of all different ages were surrounded by a group of wizards. Luke reached for the braided leather necklace he wore that held his gate keys. He pulled out a silver key and held it in his hand, focusing his magic power into it.

"Open, gate of the Little Archer: Saggita!" He yelled. Silver light flashed as the little girl holding her bow appeared. The wizards surrounding the woman and kids turned to him. "Saggita, stop those wizards, they're from a dark guild."

"Kinda already figured that out." Sagitta said, aiming her bow. A glowing purple arrow materialized as she pulled back the string. "Scatter Shot: Sleeping Arrows!"

She released the string and the arrow shot forward, splitting into six different arrows that flew into the wizards, disappearing as they did so. After a second the six wizards fell asleep. Luke approached the civilians.

"Are you alright?" He asked.

The woman nodded. "I found these children in my building and I couldn't leave them alone. When we were leaving those men ambushed us."

"Well you need to get to the town hall, my friends and I were able to set up a barrier that only the townspeople can get into." Luke retrieved another key. "Open, gate of The Driver: Auriga."

A flash of silver and an ornate silver carriage with no driver or horses appeared.

"Get inside and it'll take you straight to the town hall." Luke told them. They did and when they were all inside the door snapped shut. As the carriage began to move, a magic blast hit it. Nothing happened since it was indestructible after its doors closed so it sped off. Another magic blast was fired at Luke and he jumped out of the way. Saggita aimed her bow at the source, but a blast hit her and she glowed silver as she was sent back to the celestial world. "Saggita!" Luke called.

Luke looked around and saw a trio of wizards approaching him. In the middle was a beautiful woman in a black dress and extremely high heels. She had long blonde hair, well-done makeup and she had a white purse on her arm. On either side of her were rough-looking men, one with brown hair and one with black hair.

"Look what we have here." The woman purred. "A celestial wizard." She glanced at the man on her left. "Get rid of him, I want some new toys." She ordered.

The man on her left with the black hair nodded and stepped forward. He held out his hands to reveal blue gems glowing on his palms. Two blasts of light fired at Luke.

Luke grabbed a platinum key from his neck and yelled, "Open, gate of the Queen's Hair: Coma Berenices!"

An Egyptian queen appeared in front of him and took off an elaborate headdress to reveal long, shiny solid gold hair. It grew longer and spread in front of them to shield from the attack.

"Stop them." Luke ordered.

"Speak to me like a servant again and I'll let him hit you next time." Berenice said before swinging her head three times in quick succession. Her hair struck the black-haired wizard three times, each strike so hard he flew through the air. When she was done he was unconscious on the ground. The wizard to the woman's right drew a sword and ran at her, trying to cut her hair. When it hit the golden locks his sword shattered. Berenice swung her hair at him, but he dodged it and shot at her with a fireball. As Berenice flew backwards she made her hair catch her from falling on the ground. She sprang to her feet and her hair grew and spread out above the fire wizard. When it was spread enough to keep the sun from hitting him she slammed all her hair down in an attempt to flatten him. The wizard coated himself in fire and the hair surrounding him melted. He released a shockwave of fire from his body and it melted the hair surrounding him. Berenice hissed as her hair regrew.

"The girl behind him." Luke said. "Hit her."

Berenice rolled her eyes as she swung her hair at the woman with the blonde hair. The woman reached out and grabbed the fire wizard, pushing him in front of her so the attack struck him instead. He went unconscious after being hit.

"You boys are so useless." The woman sighed, scowling at them. She turned toward Luke. "Hello, my name is Angelique. I'm in the dark guild Hidden Terror." She gestured to the skull-shaped guild mark on her leg.

"I don't care, I'm still taking you down." Luke said. Berenice looked upset so he added, "We. We're taking you down."

Angelique laughed. "Oh, no, honey. I only told you that because you should at least know the name of the person who kills you." Angelique reached into her purse and pulled out an object that looked similar to a wallet. "I can't wait to see what kind of keys you have." She opened the object and it revealed ten keys. She pulled one out.

"You're a celestial wizard too?!" Luke exclaimed.

"They call me the Bane of the Stars in my guild," Angelique said, "because I've killed so many wizards and stolen their keys."

"That's despicable." Luke said.

"For once we're in complete agreement." Berenice said, swinging her hair at Angelique.

Angelique jumped out of the way and pulled out a silver key.

"Open, gate of the Crow!" Angelique called out. "Corvus, darling, we've got a situation here."

Silver light flashed and a man made out of dark shadows with large wings appeared.

"Kill those two for me." Angelique ordered, pointing to Luke and his spirit.

Berenice slammed her hair down on the ground, causing the cement ground to shatter and fly in the air. Then she swing her hair, launching the shrapnel at Corvus. Corvus held out his hands and a shield made of shadows appeared in front of him, negating the attack. Corvus then disappeared into thin air. Berenice looked around and spread her hair out in front of her, ready for any attack from the front. But Corvus attacked from behind, appearing at her back and hitting her with a blast of shadow. Berenice screamed as she glowed with platinum light, returning to the celestial world, defeated.

"You're gonna pay for that." Luke said. He grabbed a bronze key and yelled, "Open, gate of The Wings: Yì Xiù!"

A small fairy appeared, emitting bright, purple light from her body. Dust fell from her body emitting the same purple glow.

"Get ready to hit him hard but don't attack 'til I say so." Luke said. The fairy immediately complied with the order, flying toward Corvus. Corvus disappeared again, but when Yì Xiù came near him he was revealed by her purple glow. As Luke thought, his darkness was countered by light. The fairy flied around as Corvus tried to attack her with blasts of shadow, her purple dust following her as she evaded smoothly.

"Stop messing around and get rid of it." Angelique ordered.

Corvus doubled down with his attacks and almost managed to hit Yì Xiù with a shadowy blast. Luke felt the drain on his magic power decreasing and realized Auriga had finally reached the town hall and closed its gate. "Now we're talking." Luke said. He grabbed a silver key and opened the gate of the shield. "Scutum, I need a barrier. Yì Xiù hit him with everything you've got."

A golden shield with a giant gem in its center appeared and glowed as a giant force field made of blue energy materialized around Luke. Yì Xiù glowed a brighter hue of purple and specks of purple dust revealed themselvesvto be coated all over Corvus's body before detonating. A giant purple explosion went off, the shockwave sending Angelique backwards.

"Nice one." Luke told the fairy.

Angelique stood back up and saw that her dress was now coated with dust and her spirit was no longer present. "Seems like I underestimated you." She said. "But it won't happen again and you're still out of your depth." She took a red key out of her bag and help it to her chest. She glowed red and in a few seconds she was wearing a new black dress with a giant coat made of tiger fur. She held her hand out toward Yì Xiù. "This is how you blow someone up." She said with a smile. An explosion went off and when the smoke cleared Yì Xiù was nowhere to be found.

Luke stood with his mouth agape. Scutum's gem glowed bright red and the force field disappeared. "No, Scutum, don't!"

But the shield had already began flying toward the dark wizard, ready to bash her in the head. Angelique pointed at Scutum and an explosion surrounded him. When the smoke cleared the shield was on the ground with its gem shattered. Scutum glowed silver as he returned to the spirit world. Angelique pointed a finger at Luke and an explosion went off in front of him, sending him flying backwards ten feet into a wall. Luke quickly grabbed a key.

"Open, gate of the Triangle: Triangulum!" he yelled. A glowing, green triangle appeared in front of him.

"What do I need to do?" Triangulum asked in a deep voice.

"Stop her." Luke said.

Angelique caused another explosion, but Triangulum glowed a brighter green and it disappeared before it went off.

"Star Dress magic using the power of the Tiger." Triangulum identified. "Easy enough to deal with."

Triangulum glowed brighter again and Angelique was back to wearing her old, dirty black dress. She looked down and her mouth flew open. She looked at Triangulum and smiled.

"When I own your key, I'll make you suffer every day of your life." Angelique promised, pulling out two keys now. "Open, gates of the Fox and Ghost: Vulpecula and Gui!"

A woman with black hair, gold fox ears and nine gold tails appeared next to a ghost made out of wind.

"Kill them now!" Angelique ordered.

Gui turned into a cyclone of wind and Triangulum dispelled it, returning him to normal. Vulpecula held her hands up and a meteor of fire appeared above Luke's head, coming down like-well a meteor. Triangulum tried dispelling it, but nothing happened. Luke screamed as the meteor continued falling and he began to feel its heat. When it finally did hit him it just kept sinking into the ground. The Vulpecula that was still next to Angelique turned into fire and dashed toward Triangulum while his back-or corner-was turned and kicked him, shattering him into millions of little green shards.

"Your illusions could use some work." Angelique said.

Luke grit his teeth and grabbed another key. He held the red key out as he roared, "Open, gate of the Ox: Niú!"

The giant bipedal ox appeared next to him and Luke held the key to his chest and after glowing red he was clad in pants and a shirt made of ox fur.

"She's evil and we need to stop her." Luke told Niú.

"What do you mean by 'stop?'" Niú asked. "Stop her figuratively or literally?"

"Both." Luke said.

"And-" Niú started to ask.

"Just follow my lead." Luke said.

Luke ran forwards and clapped his hands, causing a shockwave that sent Vulpecula flying. Niú followed and did the same thing, sending Vulpecula back farther. Luke ran forwards, grabbing and throwing the fox spirit so she was sent flying at Niú. Niú clapped again and Vulpecula was sent back to the spirit world.

"Gui, show them what you're made of!" Angelique yelled.

Gui ran at Niú and, when the ox clapped to release another shockwave, the ghost turned into a tornado of wind and whirled toward the larger spirit. When he hit Niú he caught the ox inside the whirlwind. When Niú was ejected he was thrown onto the ground, coughing.

"My little ghost here uses wind spirit slayer magic." Angelique explained, looking rather imperious. "It's toxic to anything you can summon so have fun dealing with that."

Niu continued coughing and eventually he passed out, glowing red as he was sent back to the spirit world. As the ox disappeared so did Luke's star dress.

"Give up now and I might let you leave with your life." Angelique said with a grin. "Maybe even some of the spirits of yours that I don't want."

"Never." Luke said. "I don't care if I have to throw rocks, I'll never let you have my keys!"

Luke racked his mind for a spirit to use right now. It was a Saturday so most were available, but none that seemed useful against the wind spirit. Other than maybe...

"Open," Luke said as he grabbed a silver key, "gate of the Furnace: Fornax."

A teenage boy with red hair and clothes appeared in an apron with oven mits on both hands and icing all over his clothes. A miniature oven floated in the air beside him.

"I was trying a new recipe." Fornax complained.

"You really think a baker is gonna help you?" Angelique laughed. "Gui, blow him away."

"Fornax, hit him with all the fire your oven has." Luke said.

Fornax nodded to the metal oven and it flew forwards as Gui turned into a tornado again. The oven spouted a torrent of fire at the tornado. Gui turned back into its regular form, noticeably smaller.

"Air feeds fire." Luke said. "So his wind attacks will only make Fornax's fire stronger."

"Oh, look at you." Angelique said condescendingly. "So smart. Gui go around that thing and attack."

Gui turned into wind and flew through the furnace. Now he was in between the furnace and Luke and Fornax. The furnace turned around to face the ghost.

"Wind makes the fire stronger, huh?" Angelique asked. "So now it'll be strong enough to roast you. Right?"

"Fornax, tell your oven to blast with as much fire as possible and not to stop." Luke said.

"But it'll-" Fornax started.

"Trust me." Luke said.

Fornax gestured to his furnace to blast another wave of fire. When it hit, Luke opened Auriga's gate again, the carriage surrounded him and Fornax. While it did protect them both from the flames, it got very, very hot inside. When Luke thought the fire had done its job he asked Fornax to stop the fire and closed Auriga's gate. When the carriage disappeared he saw that Gui was reduced to nothing but a miniature version of himself.

Angelique sighed as she closed the spirit's gate. "This is getting annoying." She said. She produced another pair of keys from her bag, one black and one platinum. "Open, gate of the Water Planet: Neptune!"

A man made of aquamarine water appeared in front of Angelique.

Luke was breathing hard from the strain of opening all these gates. He could see Angelique was, too. But he knew he had an ace in the whole. He closed Fornax's gate. "I have a planetary key, too, so don't get comfortable." He grabbed his black key from his neck. "Say hi to my most powerful spirit. Open, gate of the Moon: Luna!"

A woman appeared in front of him...and she was lying on the ground, asleep.

"Luna!" Luke called. "Luna, wake up! Please wake up!"

"Oh my god, you're even more pathetic than I thought!" Angelique laughed. "Neptune, drown them."

Neptune looked like he just started paying attention. Luke closed Luna's gate to save her as he was surrounded by a giant cube of water. He barely held his breath in time before he was sinking in the freezing water. He saw Angelique place her second key inside the water and faintly heard her yell, "Open, gate of the Sea Monster: Cetus!" A flash of platinum light and a giant leviathan appeared inside the water. It darted toward him, snapping its teeth in an attempt to eat him. Luke swam out of the way and grabbed a wooden key from his neck, opening the gate of the Thunderbird. An eagle made of lightning flew into his body and gave him a pair of bird's wings. He flew out of the water and into the air.

"What kind of key is that?" Angelique thought out loud, her eyes shining with greed.

"Thanks, Elder." Luke said. "Lightning-Make: missile salvo!"

Arrows of lightning flew toward the square of water, electrifying the entire thing. When Neptune allowed the water to lose its shape-annoying Angelique when her shoes got wet-Cetus was unconscious on the ground. Luke flew away to a nearby rooftop while Angelique was looking at Cetus. He grabbed a red key and said, "Open, gate of the Red Rat: Shǔ." A tan man with white hair and ears, and a pink tail, wearing white pants appeared next to him.

"What's up?" Shǔ asked.

"I'm fighting a woman from a dark guild and I need you to take her purse-"

"Done." Shǔ said, turning around.

"Wait, I also need you to sap her magic."

"Fine, I'll do that too. Oh, and I accidentally took this." Shǔ returned the key Luke had been holding. He hadn't even realized that the rat had stolen his own key from him.

Luke sighed and returned it to his neck. "I'll distract them so you can sap her magic and take her-and he's already leaving."

Luke flew back up and saw Angelique pointing to him and saying something. Neptune blasted him with a jet of water and Luke dodged it by flying to the side. "Lighting-Make: swords!" A dozen swords made of lightning surrounded Neptune and flew at him, but he jumped into the air and shot jets of water from his hands to keep him afloat. He landed on the ground and shot another two blasts of water that arced around behind Luke, forcing him to fly closer. "Lightning-Make: cannonball!" A ball of lightning flew At Neptune, who easily jumped over it and made water shoot upwards under Luke like geysers. "Lightning-Make: phalanx!" Shields made of lightning surrounded him on all sides, but they shattered when the jets of water hit them and he was sent upwards. He spread his wings to steady himself in the air, but Neptune shot another blast of water at him. It felt like he got hit by a hammer and knocked him out of the air. When he fell to the ground he saw Neptune standing over him. Neptune held out a hand and prepared to fire another blast of water. When he did a light mist shot out like a spray bottle. Neptune looked as surprised as someone with a face made of water could and Luke glanced at Angelique, smiling at what he saw.

Shǔ had snuck up on her, stealing her purse and the keys inside and grabbing her arm to use his magic. He was slowly draining her magic power, supplying it to Luke. Uranus, realizing she was almost out of power and how much of it he used, closed his gate and disappeared. When Shǔ let go of Angelique's hand she fell to the ground.

"You're going to jail." Luke said.

"Never." Angelique said. She reached for a necklace she was wearing and pressed a button on the back of it. A man in a black tuxedo that matched her dress appeared at her side and in the blink of an eye the two were gone.


	2. Chapter 2

Ossomaru Arasharma and his friend Cassander were currently on their way back from a job with a stone treasure chest that was floating next to Cassander. What excited Ossomaru to the point of pestering Cassander to take such a low-paying job was that this box was supposed to contain extremely ancient celestial spirit gate keys. The archaeologist who posted up the job had no need for them and agreed to let them have any keys that were inside in addition to 5,000 jewel. When they got to a fork in the road they saw someone standing in their path.

"Excuse me, we were hoping to get past." Ossomaru said.

The man turned around, revealing his dark red eyes and black hair.

"Give me the box." The man said. "And then leave."

"That's not happening." Cassander said flatly.

"You get one chance to leave with your life." The man said. Ossomaru noticed how dead and emotionless his eyes were.

"You took the words right out of my mouth." Cassander said.

"Maybe we can compromise-" Ossomaru started.

"Shut up and hold this." Cassander said as he made the chest float into Ossomaru's hands.

Then Cassander jumped into battle. Literally. He used his magic to lift himself into the air, descending onto the strange wizard and using his momentum to empower a punch from above. The wizard dodged it and kicked at Cassander while he was gaining his footing. Cassander jumped backwards to avoid the hit and tried a kick of his own. The red-eyed man sidestepped it and pulled two daggers from his waist, slashing at Cassander with them. Cassander sent the daggers flying away with his magic and then held a hand toward the man, lifting him into the air. The man produced a silver gate key from a chain at his neck. Ossomaru gasped as the man held it outwards.

"Open, gate of the Sacrificed Princess: Andromeda!" The man said. In a silver flash of light a woman made of fire with bat wings sprouting from her back appeared. She carried a pickax that was attached to a chain. She expertly spun it before tossing it at Cassander, who was forced to release the red-eyed wizard as he jumped back. Both Andromeda and her wizard attacked Cassander, the spirit flying at him from above while the man retrieved his daggers and sprinted toward him.

"Are you gonna stand there looking stupid or help out for once?" Cassander called behind him.

Ossomaru realized that was directed at him and reached for his keys. "Open, gate of the Red Monkey: Hóu."

A humanoid monkey appeared beside Ossomaru, hefting his staff over his shoulder. "What are we doing this time?"

"Help Cassander." Ossomaru said.

Hóu ran forward, holding his staff as he launched himself upward at Andromeda. Andromeda flew higher to avoid his hit and lashed out with her pickax. The ax bounced right off of Hóu's fur as he used his Hardening magic on himself. He jumped up again and hit Andromeda, sending the spirit to the ground.

Cassander used his magic to disarm the red-eyed wizard before blasting him with a wave of telekinetic force. The wizard dodged it and grabbed a red key.

"Open, gate of the Snake: Shé." He said calmly.

Ossomaru's mouth gaped as the gorgon appeared next to the black haired wizard. "He just opened two gates." He said in astonishment.

"Then you do it, too." Cassander said with annoyance as he dodged a swipe of Shé's claws before jumping as the enemy wizard kicked at him.

"I...can't yet." Ossomaru said.

"You're so useless." Cassander complained.

Ossomaru frowned before he got an idea. "Thank you, Hóu, but you gotta go back."

The monkey hit the sacrificed princess with his staff one more time before disappearing in a red flash of light. Ossomaru grabbed a platinum key.

"Open, gate of the Dove: Columba!" Ossomaru called. The pale woman appeared in a long white gown made of feathers.

"Ugh, what did I say about forests." Columba complained. "You can't afford to replace this dress."

"There's no time." Ossamaru said. Cassander was having a lot more trouble now since Andromeda had joined the assault. He didn't seem to fare well against the three of them together. "Give him more power and speed."

Columba materialized five feathers that she held like a fan in one hand. She took out two with the other hand and drew a symbol in the air with each one. The symbols appeared, glowing white, on Cassander's legs and arms. After they took effect Cassander moved faster, dodging the attacks of the wizard and his two spirits. He unleashed a wave of telekinetic force around him, sending all three of them flying away. He used his magic to pull Andromeda toward him, punching the flaming woman as she got closer. The blow sent her back to the spirit world.

"Transform him." The wizard told Shé. The serpent spirit pointed at Cassander and he was immediately encased in a substance like serpent skin. After a few seconds it shed from his body, shrinking, to reveal that he was now a harmless puppy. Harmless for something that was growling fiercely. Ossomaru looked at his keys, going through each of them.

"Opening another gate?" Columba asked. "I was about to suggest it. It's a mostly painless death so you can put yourself out of your misery before they can."

"I'm looking for someone to undo that transformation." Ossomaru said as Shé and her wizard approached Cassander.

Columba sighed in annoyance before she drew another symbol with a third feather. Cassander glowed white and returned to human form. He hopped to his feet and jumped backward, holding a hand toward his two attackers.

"Strengthen that attack." Ossomaru said quickly.

Columba drew a symbol with a fourth feather and Cassander released a blast of force so powerful it sent Shé back to the spirit world and the red-eyed wizard flying.

"Cassander, I can summon Pegasus and we can get out of here now." Ossomaru said.

"No," Cassander said flatly. "I'm finishing this."

"But-"

Cassander chased after the red-eyed wizard and Ossomaru began to follow him until he remembered Columba was supposed to be at his side.

"Come on." Ossomaru told the Dove spirit.

"Absolutely not, I refuse to rip this dress on all these branches and roots." Columba said.

Ossomaru sighed. "Then...get on my back."

"Excuse me?" Columba said.

"It's that or you walk yourself." Ossomaru said. Columba rolled her eyes and climbed up onto Ossomaru's back. It took him a while to find where Cassander had gone from the weight of Columba on his back and the chest in his arms. When he reached the clearing he found the black haired wizard was standing over Cassander who was unconscious on the ground with a dagger held over him. Columba climbed off of Ossomaru's back. "Help Cassander." He told the spirit. Then he grabbed a rock and threw it at the enemy wizard, knocking the dagger from his hand.

"I can give him more magic power." Columba said. "But I can't wake him up, so are you sure that's your decision?"

That was when Ossomaru began to panic. But he took an extremely deep breath and pulled out another key. "Give  _me_  more magic power."

Columba laughed. "If you get yourself killed and he-" she pointed to the red-eyed wizard "-ends up with my key, I'll drag you back up from the underworld and-"

"Just do it." Ossomaru said, getting really tired of the attitude.

Columba drew a symbol with her last feather and it appeared on Ossomaru's forehead. "I'd say it's been a pleasure, but it wasn't." She left in a flash of platinum light.

When Ossomaru felt his magic reserves were filled again he held out his green key. It was just in time because the red-eyed wizard had pulled out a key of his own.

"Open, gate of the Green Wolf: Reed!" Ossomaru called.

"Open, gate of the Hero: Hercules." The other wizard said calmly.

A wolf made of ice appeared next to Ossomaru, jumping into his body and coating him in ice.

A man appeared next to the enemy wizard. He touched the ground and his body slowly absorbed the stone beneath their feet, coating himself with it. He flicked his arms and his fists became maces.

Ossomaru gulped before he launched himself at the spirit. He ducked and dodged underneath Hercules's swings before punching his attacker. When he saw how effective it was he tried again and didn't notice the red-eyed wizard appear behind him, aiming his daggers at Ossomaru's back. Ossomaru noticed that the daggers were plunged into his back but didn't break his skin. Since he was coated in ice it didn't hurt much but, while he looked behind himself in shock, he didn't notice Hercules winding up to hit him with his mace. Ossomaru grunted as he was hit in the face twice by the Hero spirit before the wizard behind him kicked his legs from underneath him. He hopped back up to his feet and aimed a punch at the wizard, but he missed and was hit in the head from behind by Hercules. Ossomaru decided to switch strategies. He began dodging the attacks of the two aggressors until he was able to get far enough from them to grab another key. He'd never done this before and it took a second of thinking about how stupid he must be to try this. But he gritted his teeth and held out the silver key.

"Open, gate of the Polar Bear: Ursa Major!" He called. A woman in a white dress with a lot of fur detail materialized beside him.

"What do you need now, honey?" Ursa asked with a bright smile.

"Stop Hercules."

"Is he trying to hurt my baby?" Ursa's smile disappeared. When Ossomaru nodded she turned into a polar bear and barreled toward Hercules on all fours. The hero spirit dodged it and swung at her with his arms. Ursa stood up on her hind legs and fell down onto him, knocking him to the ground. The red-eyed wizard grabbed another platinum key and held it in front of him.

"Open, gate of the Warrior: Perseus." He said. A man with long, blonde hair appeared in front of him.

"Who wants to hear about how I slayed the leviathan-" Perseus started.

"Stop the bear." The red-eyed wizard said. " _Now_."

"I'll tell you later." Perseus said. "Requip!" A sword and shield appeared in his hand. He ran toward Ursa, who was swiping at Hercules while she had him pinned down but couldn't get through the stone coating his body. He swung with his sword, but Ursa turned back into human form before blasting him with cold wind. Perseus raised his shield, reflecting the attack back at her. Ursa flew through the air, turning back into bear form so she'd land faster with her increased size and turning back into human form so she could summon a hundred shards of ice. The ice flew forward, knocking Perseus's shield from his hand. Hercules charged at Ursa so she blasted the ground in front of him, coating it with ice. Hercules slipped for a moment before making the stone on his feet sharpen like cleats. Ursa blasted him with cold air, but he turned his arms into shields. Ursa turned back into bear form and charged at Hercules, taking advantage of him being stuck to the ground so she could attack him while his movement was limited.

Ossomaru was currently grappling with the red-eyed wizard. He raised an arm to block one of his daggers. Despite being made of solid ice his arm cracked and he felt a shooting pain go through it. Reed was getting weaker. So was he. He barely had time to duck under the wizard's other dagger. He tried to throw a punch, but he moved too slowly and the red-eyed wizard kicked him in the stomach, sending him to the ground. The combat skill Reed gave him was starting to fade as his magic power did.

He heard someone say "Requip!" A few seconds later Ursa fell to the ground. Perseus appeared out of thin air behind her, wearing a helmet on his head that had made him invisible. Perseus summoned his sword and held it over Ursa's throat. Suddenly Cassander appeared behind him and kicked Perseus in the head, sending the Warrior spirit flying away. Ursa turned into human form and got back up on her feet. She made a shard of ice as large as a spear appear in her hand and threw it at Perseus. Perseus glowed platinum and returned to the celestial world.

Ossomaru fell to the ground. Before the red-eyed wizard could take advantage of his lack of energy, Cassander blasted him with telekinetic force. Reed exited his body and returned to the celestial world before Ossomaru could even ask him.

Ursa blasted Hercules with cold air and the Hero absorbed the ice that formed on his body, coating one of his hands with it. Ursa turned into bear form and ran at him. Hercules ducked under her and rolled to the side. Ursa then lunged at him while his back was turned and turned back to human form. She grabbed onto him and tackled him to the ground, using her magic to create ice all around him. Hercules absorbed the ice into his body until he was completely made of ice all throughout his whole body. Ursa then smiled as she used her magic to shatter Hercules's entire body, sending him back to the spirit world. She got up from the ground and rushed to Ossomaru's side. He was on the ground, barely breathing from the strain of keeping Ursa and Reed's gates open for so long. Ursa helped him lean up against a tree before she returned to the celestial world. When she finally did Ossomaru felt like a weight had literally been lifted off of his shoulders but his eyes widened when he saw that Cassander was still fighting. He tried to stand but he could hardly move, watching the fight unfold helpless to do any more.

Cassander punched the red-eyed wizard. The wizard quickly shrugged it off and reached for another key. Cassander used his magic to send the necklace containing the evil wizard's keys flying away and then fired a blast of force at his opponent. The wizard flew through the air but quickly returned to his feet. He dove for his keys but Cassander used his magic to lift him into the air. The red-eyed wizard, despite floating in the air, was able to reach into his sleeve and produce a dagger. He tossed it at Cassander but, before it hit, Cassander stopped it in midair. He then used his magic to send the red-eyed wizard flying into a tree and made the dagger fly in the same direction. Ossomaru gasped as the dagger spun towards the enemy wizard, only releasing his breath when he saw it just pinned the wizard to the tree by his sleeve instead of taking a more fatal path.

Cassander strode to Ossomaru's position across the clearing. "You're really an idiot for using so much magic power." He said.

"I didn't really have a choice considering you were uncon-" Ossomaru began to reply.

"Shut up before I kill you." Cassander said. Ossomaru wisely stopped talking. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I am now."

"Good, I didn't want to have to look for a new team member. We need to get this guy to the Rune Knights."

"I can summon-"

"Are you trying to die?"

"He's dangerous when he's not restrained and we can't exactly take him anywhere while he's pinned to that tree. I got this."

"Your life to gamble." Cassander said with a sigh.

Ossomaru took out a silver key and said, "Open, gate of the Painter: Pictor!"

The tattooed man appeared in front of Ossomaru. He looked at the red-eyed wizard trying to dislodge the dagger from the tree.

"I get it." Pictor said. "He's trying show us how people are always trying to run from the natural world to these giant cities-"

"Pictor, I love your critiques usually but we don't have a lot of time." Ossomaru said. "Can you make a pair of magic-canceling shackles?"

"Sure." Pictor said. He took a vial of ink from his belt and dipped his finger into it. He drew out in front of him and the ink stuck to the solid air. His drawing of metal shackles solidified into real metal. "These good?"

"Yes, perfect." Ossomaru said, obviously having a hard time just standing.

"You can leave now." Cassander callously said to Pictor.

Ossomaru gaped at him as Pictor unhappily disappeared in a flash of silver. "You can't talk to my spirits like that."

"You don't get to scold me." Cassander said.

"Why not? We're a team."

Cassander made the shackles float over to the red-eyed wizard, clamping around his wrists. He then pulled the dagger out of the tree and held it to the wizard's back as he led him forward. Ossomaru followed him as he said, "Because this wizard broke the law when he tried to use magic for assassination. What happens to a celestial wizard when they do that?"

"Their contracts become null and void." Ossomaru said.

"Well I'm gonna negotiate with the rune knights to get you his keys as a reward for us bringing in a dark wizard."

The wizard turned around violently when he heard that but Cassander used his magic to lift the wizard into the air. Cassander suddenly stopped walking and looked at Ossomaru without speaking.

"What?" Ossomaru asked.

"Go get the chest we risked our lives for." Cassander ordered. Ossomaru went back for it and Cassander added, "This guy's keys too."

Ossomaru huffed but smiled when he thought of the keys that must be inside the stone chest and the endless possibilities of spirits he'd be able meet using them.


	3. Chapter 3

Tamada was currently in a stadium waiting for the next round of this extremely loud, extremely dangerous competition. The job she'd chosen was simple. A young woman needed money. So Tamada would compete, the woman would bet on her and they'd split the profits when she won. She'd fought earlier and she would face whoever won this match. Apparently, the woman had also bet on that wizard and offered them the same deal. On one side of the large ring a muscular young man entered, smiling and waving to the crowd confidently.

"To our right we have Gengo, the Bruiser from Bloom City!" The announcer called. He got a lot of applause from the audience, but what drew Tamada's attention were the keys at the other opponent's waist. The blonde-haired girl didn't look like much of a fighter but she stepped into the ring without hesitation.

"And on our left we have the stunning Lucy Heartfillia, the Queen of Constellations from Magnolia!"

The audience was clapping so much that it sounded like thunder. Lucy gave a big smile and blew a kiss to the audience before quickly stretching in preparation for the fight.

_Queen of Constellations, huh?_  Tamada thought.  _We'll see_.

When the announcer signalled the start of the fight, Gengo charged at her. Lucy grabbed a gold key and held it out.

"Open, gate of the Goat: Capricorn!" Lucy called. A bipedal goat in a tuxedo appeared beside her in a flash of gold light. Then, her clothing morphed into a black and purple dress as horns grew from her head. They ran forward together to meet their attacker. Capricorn and Lucy both jumped to one side of Gengo before turning around and jumping up into the air to add power to a kick to either side of his face. They followed it up by jumping in front of and behind him respectively, hitting him with a barrage of punches and kicks. Within seconds Gengo was down on the ground. Lucy sent Capricorn back with a "thank you" and returned his key to its place.

The crowd roared in applause. Tamada had to clap too. It had been less than half a minute. Lucy had been able to beat her own time by about five seconds.

Lucy stayed in the ring since her opponent had already been chosen and Tamada descended the steps so she could enter on the opposite side.

"And now, in our semifinals, welcome back Tamada, the Superb Summoner!" The announcer called. "Begin, ladies!"

"Time to get that reward." Lucy announced with a greedy glint in her eyes. She pulled out another gold key. "Open, gate of the Golden Bull: Taurus, you're up!"

The minotaur appeared in front of her with Labrys casually held in one hand. He looked at Tamada and then back at Lucy. "Getting summoned in between two gorgeous wizards is really mooooving. What did I do to deserve this?"

"Let's just get to the fighting." Lucy said, donning Taurus's star dress and cracking her whip, which shattered the stone it hit with her enhanced strength.

"Looks like we've got a flirt on our hands." Tamada said, pulling out a silver key. "Open, gate of the Flamingo: Phoenicopterus."

A curvy woman with pink hair and eyes appeared at her side. "Ooo, what a looker." Terus said to Taurus. She winked at him before saying, "I like fighting, but I'd prefer you put that ax down and show me a  _really_  good time."

Taurus instantly threw the ax to the ground.

"What?" Lucy exclaimed. "This is a fight, don't believe her."

"Don't spoil our fun." The Flamingo spirit said. Terus put her hands behind her back as they glowed and took a step towards him. When she was close enough to have a good shot and knew Taurus was too captivated to speak, she aimed her hands at him and fired a blast of pink energy at him. Taurus, unfortunately, reacted quickly. He picked up his discarded ax and blocked the attack from hitting his face, though the blast burned through his ax and left a giant hole.

"That was so not cooool." Taurus said, finally back in battle mode. "Now the steaks are high."

He threw the broken ax at Terus but she blasted it out of the air. Lucy swung her whip at her, but Terus rolled to the side and fired a blast of pink energy at her. Lucy jumped out of the way quickly and Terus had to back away as Taurus ran at her.

"Focus your attention on Taurus." Tamada said. "As soon as he's gone, she loses the power he gives her."

"Will do, hon." Terus said sweetly. She blasted Taurus with pink energy but the Bull ducked under it. She jumped back as he tried to kick her and had to roll under his legs to dodge a strike from Lucy's whip. Then, Lucy switched targets and tried to hit Tamada with her whip. Tamada jumped out of the way.

"Get one good shot in, I'll take care of the rest." Tamada said.

"Be careful Taurus." Lucy said as she managed to loop her whip around Tamada's leg, pulling her to the ground.

Terus ducked under a roundhouse kick from Taurus and stood on the tips of her toes to kiss him on the lips quickly. While he looked at her in shock, she prepared her blast.

"Power up: Terus!" Tamada said as she finally unwound the whip from her leg.

Terus's hands glowed so bright she couldn't see in front of her and she fired. When the light faded, Taurus was gone and Lucy's star dress disappeared. She looked a little shocked that a silver key spirit had that kind of power, but she pulled out two more keys.

"I'm starting to die." Terus informed Tamada casually. "The blast was too much, my soul is fading."

"Go back, I don't want you suffering." Tamada ordered. Terus thanked her and returned to the celestial world. Tamada drew two keys, one from her boot and the other from her sleeve. Ever since she'd gotten into a fight with a Territory user from Sabertooth, she'd made sure her opponents couldn't guess the locations of her keys.

"Open, gates of the Maiden and Ram: Virgo and Aries!" Aries and Virgo appeared at both her sides and Lucy glowed gold as she was clothed in a wool outfit.

"Open, gates of the Bragging Queen and the Sheep: Cassiopeia and Yáng." Tamada called with a platinum and red key in one hand. The queen appeared beside Tamada in a flowing red dress. She was currently using a brush to apply blush to her cheeks but she stopped when she saw what was going on. Yang appeared on Tamada's other side and cracked her knuckles.

"Ready to fight, guys?" Tamada and Lucy asked their spirits in unison, completely by coincidence.

"Yes, princess." Virgo said with a nod.

"I...think so." Aries mumbled.

"Time to prove I wear wool  _and_  use my magic better than you can, Aries." Yáng taunted.

"I wasn't putting on blush, I look like this naturally." Cassiopeia lied.

Virgo dove underground. Aries and Lucy blasted the two enemy spirits with a torrent of wool. Cassiopeia banged two makeup brushes together, sending a cloud of burning powder forward that incinerated the wool. Lucy shot a blast of wool at Tamada, but the queen used her flaming powder again, burning it away.

Yang ran toward Aries, prepared to blast her with her magic. Virgo suddenly appeared at her side and tried to kick her.

"Protect: Yáng." Tamada said. The Sheep spirit was surrounded with purple energy and Virgo's attack sent her flying backward. "Quicken: Cassiopeia."

Cassiopeia glowed purple and she ran across the arena, banging two brushes together when she reached Virgo. Virgo was pushed violently backward by a blast of wind. Aries made a wool wall to break the Maiden spirit's fall and Lucy used a wool wall ofher own to stop Yáng, who was still focused solely on beating Aries.

"Yáng, start attacking with strategy." Tamada ordered.

"But-" Yáng started.

"No buts. Cass, use your yawning powder so Yáng has a chance to do her thing."

Cassiopeia used her burning powder to get through Lucy's wool wall. She then approached Lucy and Aries, who readied to fire wool at her. Cassiopeia used sneezing powder on Aries, rendering her unable to attack since she could barely keep her eyes open between sneezes. When the Bragging Queen got close to Lucy, the wizard kicked at her with a leg surrounded in wool. Cassiopeia shrieked and backed away immediately, not used to close combat. Then she banged two brushes together and used her yawning powder.

Virgo got back on her feet and burrowed underground, appearing in front of Yáng and swinging her chains. Yáng jumped out of the way and fired a pressurized blast of milk at Virgo. The Maiden spirit went back underground and Yáng fired a torrent of milk into the hole that the other spirit had left. Virgo popped back up, milk pushing her out like a geyser.

"One down, onto the next." Tamada said.

Yáng turned toward Lucy and fired milk at her while she yawned. Lucy accidentally swallowed some and her vision fogged.

"Tell her to walk out of bounds." Tamada ordered.

"Walk out of bounds." Yáng said to Lucy. The blonde wizard immediately turned around and walked toward the boundary line.

"Princess, wait!" Virgo called. She dove underground. Aries, through her sneezing, created a gigantic wool wall in front of Lucy. Lucy tried to walk around it but Virgo rose from the ground and grabbed her, carrying her away from the line.

"Stop her." Tamada said to Cassiopeia.

Cassiopeia grabbed two of her brushes, but suddenly stopped moving and looked around the ring. So did Aries, Virgo and Yáng. Tamada followed their gaze. There was a shattering sound and purple light spread around the stadium for a moment. When it faded, all of the spectators in the arena were completely motionless.

"What's going on?" Tamada asked.

"As an extremely powerful and experienced spirit, I think it looks like some kind of spatial distortion magic." Yáng said, obviously pleased with herself for knowing it. "Time must be slowed down right now."

Virgo had put down Lucy and the milk seemed to be wearing off now.

"Why are none of us affected?" Tamada asked.

"Well...I don't know." Yáng grumbled. "Maybe because you guys use spatial magic too."

Suddenly, tornadoes of sand surrounded all four spirits in the ring. When the sand disappeared, the spirits were nowhere to be found. Lucy had finally found her bearings and drew her whip, backing up to Tamada's side. Following the direction the sand came from, they found an old wizard standing a few feet outside the ring. On his forehead he had the mark of the dark guild, Hound's Head. He was holding a purple gem that glowed with magic power. He pocketed it as sand began to appear around him.

"I'm getting a refund on this space crystal." Suna said. "It was supposed to stop everyone."

"Truce for now?" Lucy offered.

Tamada nodded.

"Who are you?" Lucy demanded, her eyes on the old man.

"I am Suna. Now get out of my way."

"Not happening." Tamada said. "You won't lay a hand on anyone in the audience."

"Who cares about them?" Suna asked in surprise. "I just want all the money from those bets."

"Then you really won't touch it." Lucy said. "That prize money is mine!"

"Actually, you were about to step out of bounds so..." Tamada said.

"Whatever, let's just deal with this creep-AAH!" As Lucy spoke, Virgo popped up from underground beside her.

"Princess, I was able to escape that man's attack." Virgo said.

"Nice work, Virgo." Lucy said. "You can go for now."

Virgo disappeared in a flash of gold. Lucy pulled out a gold key and Tamada pulled out a bronze one.

"Open, gate of the Scorpion: Scorpio." Lucy said. Scorpio appeared at her side in a flash of gold light.

"Open, gate of the Friend of the Forrest: Tso Kang." Tamada said. The lanky old man appeared in front of his wizard in a flash of bronze light. He was smiling and waving like he was on a parade float.

Lucy donned Scorpio's star dress and assumed a fighting stance. "If this guy likes sand so much, we'll see how he likes this."

Scorpio shot a blast of sand from his tail and Lucy was instantly attracted to it like a magnet, flying along its trajectory.

"Power up: Lucy." Tamada said.

Lucy glowed purple as she kicked the enemy wizard, using the force of the sand to strengthen the blow. He was sent flying ten feet backwards. He got back up on his feet and a shield of sand surrounded him as Scorpio shot another sand buster.

"Hugo, you go!" Tso Kang said. The sand from the failed sand buster suddenly packed together to form a giant golem.

"Quicken: Hugo." Tamada said.

Hugo smacked Suna, but the wizard held out a hand as he fell to the ground and Hugo suddenly turned into a spear of sand that flew straight into Tso Kang. Tso Kang returned to the celestial world in a flash of bronze light and Hugo immediately collapsed back into sand.

Lucy jumped into the air and Scorpio shot a sand buster from his tail again. As Lucy fell from the air, she surfed down the blast of sand to punch Suna. The sand wizard summoned a twister of sand around himself and Lucy was thrown backwards before she began to fly through the sand in order to get above him. When she was right above him, Suna made the twister disappear abruptly. Lucy fell from the air, descending quickly. Scorpio shot a blast of sand for her to fly down through but Suna shot him with a spear of sand, sending him back to the spirit world and causing Lucy's star dress to fade. Now, the blonde wizard was falling from ninety feet in that air, unable to reach her keys.

"Quicken: myself." Tamada said. She sped across the arena and caught Lucy as she neared the ground. But doing that meant she had to get close to the sand wizard. After she caught Lucy, Suna blasted them with sand, sending them flying. "Heal: Lucy." Lucy's wounds from the blast of sand disappeared. "Heal: myself." The same thing happened to Tamada.

"Please tell me you're not as low on magic power as I am." Lucy said to Tamada.

"It would be a total lie. And I'm almost out of combat spirits." Tamada replied.

"I don't even know if Leo can do more than Scorpio could with his sand." Lucy wondered out loud. "Do you have any plans on how we can deal with him?"

"A risky one considering the state we're in." Tamada pulled out a red key. "Have you ever done a unison raid?"

"Yeah, a few times."

"What about when you're summoning Zodiac spirits?"

"That would be new." Lucy admitted.

"If you can summon Virgo again, I know how to beat this guy."

Lucy retrieved Virgo's key from her belt. "How do we do this?"

Tamada held the red key in her right hand and joined hands with Lucy, who held her gold key in her left hand.

" **Open, gate of the**   **Stonebearer:...** " Lucy and Tamada said together.

" **Mǎ!** " Tamada yelled.

" **Virgo!** " Lucy yelled.

" **Fuse!** " They called.

Gold and green light surrounded them before swirling together and materializing into a beautiful girl with sandy hair and brown eyes, wearing a beige maid outfit.

"Been a while since we took this form." Mǎ and Virgo's combined voices noted. "What shall we do for you, summoners?"

"Stop that guy." Lucy said.

"Quickly." Tamada added.

"Consider it done." They said.

The earth underneath the Stonebearer violently surged upwards, sending them flying into the air. Suna constructed a dome of sand around himself to protect him from the kick from above. Stone coated Mǎ and Virgo's body out of nowhere, sending them straight to the ground with the added weight. Once they reached the ground, they dove under. Suna was immediately thrown out of the sand dome, shattering it with the force he was thrown with. Mǎ and Virgo had went underground-the place the dome of sand didn't protect Suna from. Then they'd punched him outside of his own shield. They waved a hand and a chunk of earth flew from the ground, launching itself at Suna. The sand wizard lifted a hand and a whip of sand shattered the boulder before it could reach him. He flicked his wrist and sand formed into a ball, solidifying and shooting forward like a cannon ball. Mǎ and Virgo created a wall of stone in an instant to take the hit before sending it at Suna. The sand wizard created a matching wall out of sand, launching it forward so they both shattered. The ground underneath Suna began to shake as it turned to a wave of stone that was sending him barreling into a wall. He jumped upward, summoning sand to soften his fall and then making a tornado of sand surround the Stonebearer spirit, sending them backward as they were ejected out of it. They landed back inside the ring and rolled to their feet as they lifted all the bricks that made up the designated battle area. The bricks shattered into thousands of jagged pieces of shrapnel and quickly flew through the air so that they surrounded Suna. The sand wizard waved his arm and an sphere of sand surrounded him, lifting him into the air. Virgo and Mǎ slowly clenched their fist and the sand surrounding him solidified into stone before crumbling away. The shards of brick flew at him, joining together as they reached his hands and legs to form shackles that pulled him down to the ground. His hands were bound together so that he couldn't use his sand anymore. An orb made of stone launched itself at Suna's head, knocking him out cold.

"Now." The Stonebearer's tone got a thousand times more menacing as they raised their hand in the air and a gigantic lance made of stone appeared above their body, aimed directly at Suna's head. " _Time to stop him once and for all_."

Lucy and Tamada were on the ground, breathing heavily but with their hands still joined.

"That won't be necessary." Lucy said quickly.

"You sure?" Tamada asked her.

"We can't kill him!" Lucy exclaimed. "We'll turn him in to the Rune Knights."

"Are you sure, Princess?" It was mostly Virgo's voice that the fused spirit asked the question with.

"Yes."

"And you, milady?" Now, Mǎ's voice was more obvious.

"Sure." Tamada agreed.

The lance shattered into pebbles instantly. The Stonebearer spirit retrieved the gem from Suna's pocket and gave it to Tamada.

"Will that be all, summoners?" Virgo and Mǎ asked.

"Yes." Tamada said.

"Thanks, you really got us out of a bind." Lucy said.

"Anytime, princess-milady." The Stonebearer said the last word at the same time but with different voices. They then glowed with golden and red light that separated as they faded away.

Lucy rose from the ground so that she was sitting down and put away Virgo's key. Tamada tried to stand, but settled on sitting when she almost fell. She placed the gem on the ground and Lucy used the handle of her fleuve d'étoiles to shatter the gem. The glow of the shards slowly extinguished and everyone began moving again, their shouts continuing as they were before until they noticed that the field was in ruin, a dark wizard was in chains, and the two competitors were barely even able to move.

* * *

Lucy and Tamada had both decided to forfeit. Since they'd saved everyone, the tournament's master had given them both the prize money along with extra as thanks. The two wizards had gathered enough strength to threaten to summon a dragon when the girl who'd requested the job tried to claim that since the request only offered to split the jewel among herself and a single winner, she technically didn't have to divide it three ways.

"I can't believe she thought we could summon a dragon." Lucy said as she and Tamada made their trek through the forest on the way back to their guilds. "Where did you come up with that?"

"Well, I can." Tamada said with a wicked grin. "And he gets really mad when he doesn't get paid."

"I know someone who'd practically die if he found out about that." Lucy said.

"Maybe I'll summon him one day so you guys can meet him."

"Do so at your own risk. He might try to start a fight with a dragon spirit."

"Oh, I wouldn't be worried. Draconis can handle himself."

They finally reached the fork in the road that led to Magnolia on one end and Saffron Shore on the other.

"See you soon." Lucy said.

"And I want a rematch next time." Tamada said.

"Definitely. But be ready to lose."

"Never." Tamada called as she continued down her path and Lucy slowly faded out of view.


End file.
